Myself and six others were headed out for our first hitch as a team. We
headed to the Waloven-Himes trailhead in Kootenai National Forest, the
goal being to smooth out and open up stock crossings over six creek
crossings and practice our chainsaw skills by removing obstructions
created by fallen trees along the trail.
But expect the unexpected, they say, and this was no exception. As our
sponsor walked us along the trail to give us an intro to the work, he
suddenly stopped in his tracks - and a good thing at that. The stock
trail had simply slipped into the creek. Our job duties for the week
suddenly included rerouting the trail; but no matter - we got it done, and
I think it's fair to say that showing up ready to do anything that might need
to get done, rather than just ready to check off a to-do list, is the best
way to get this (or any?) job done. The reroute ended up being good
practice for us all, since our second hitch consisted of similar work on
Fisher Mountain in Kootenai. Both weeks, looking over our work, plus
positive feedback from our sponsors, were very gratifying for us all.
Most of the surprises for me that first week were moments when the scenery
was particularly breathtaking. I've seen a river braid its way through a
plain before, but seeing the creek rush, gurgle, and meander its way under
and around stands of trees was a first. The trees and water gave the
light reaching through the forest a misty, green-blue quality (one of us
mentioned the Lord of the Rings movies as a comparison).
We ended up walking an hour to work for a couple days, and I couldn't help
but compare that "commute" favorably to the summer I spent commuting the
same amount of time on Washington D.C. freeways, having sleepy drivers
bump into my car during stop-and-go traffic. I probably won't hike to
work when I "grow up," but living out here in Montana will definitely
inspire me to seek alternatives - I even read in the Washington Post one
time about people in Washington who kayak on the Potomac to work. Who
knows what I'll do!
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